This invention relates to a method of developing a photographic material shaped in a disk form (hereafter called as a disk film) or an apparatus therefor. More particularly, it is related to a disk film developing apparatus used in a novel photographic treatment system which makes it possible to view a photographed picture quickly by print or viewer after photographing. It can be installed in a small space in a camera shops, D.P.E. agencies, film retail shops, etc. and permits development of good photographic performance by simple operation. This permits anyone who has no photograph processing knowledge to operate it and to use in the home.
It is a desire cherished by anyone to see the photograph quickly after photographing. So-called instant photographs invented by polaroid Company of Cambridge Mass. fulfill this need. Recently, an electronic type of photography (e.g. the electronic still camera of Sony.RTM. Corporation) using a magnetic recording medium without using photograph film was introduced.
The former, however, is expensive in unit cost and is unsuitable to obtaining a plurality of copies and the latter is, at present, unsatisfactory in photographic performance such as sensitivity and resolving power. In addition, the apparatus is expensive and the equipment is larger than the disk camera taken up here. It cannot provide hard copies having high resolving power and high sharpness, which is unlike the silver-halide photography.
Further, a self-developing film and a photograph treating kit which attains developing process by means of injecting a photograph processing solution into the magazine accommodating a roll film are known, but the former is a special one quite different from the ordinary photographic film, and the latter is for the "photograph mania", not accessible to a layman who has little knowledge of photography. It is not suitable to the novel photograph system aimed at by this invention.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a novel photograph processing system which makes it possible to view a photographed picture by print or viewer quickly after photographing by use of a disk film according to the invention.
The disk film is supplied in the form of a film unit accommodated in a cartridge. After exposure in a specified camera, it is taken to a centralized photograph processing facility, a so called "lab", through agencies, and subjected to photographic processing such as developing and printing.
In the lab., disk film is taken out of the cartridge by a cartridge opener, set on an automatic developer, and automatically developed while being rotated at a high speed.
In the photographic processing technique for disk film, many prior art references for processing roll film are utilized, but those pertaining to the disk film are, for example:
Related to disk-film camera PA0 U.S. Pat. No. 4,202,614 PA0 Related to disk film and film unit PA0 Related to disk-film photograph processing PA0 Related to disk-film printing PA0 Related to general matter
Japanese Patent Publication Open to Public Inspection No. 113,526/1978 (hereinafter referred to as Japanese Patent O.P.I. Publication) PA1 Japanese Patent O.P.I. Publication No. 146437/1980 PA1 Japanese Patent O.P.I. Publication No. 146438/1980 PA1 U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,212,673 PA1 4,264,169 PA1 Japanese Patent O.P.I. Publication Nos. 113,525/1978 PA1 101,940/1980 PA1 101,942/1980 PA1 U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,112,453 PA1 4,132,469 PA1 4,188,106 PA1 4,208,116 PA1 4,248,564 PA1 Japanese Patent O.P.I. Publication No. 110829/1978 PA1 U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,203,664 PA1 4,204,773
Those described in the Whole Aspect of Kodak Disk Film (Photograph Industry, p. 26-41, April, 1982) are available.
The disk film, like other amateur photographic film prepared for amateur use such as 35-mm roll film, is protected from light being accommodated in a light-shielding vessel (hereinafter called cartridge), and installed in a specified camera being kept in the cartridge, when photographing. The specified camera opens the shutter of the exposure window of the cartridge to make photographing possible, linking with the operation of the installation of the cartridge and film windup. After photographing, the shutter of the cartridge exposure window is closed linked with the operation or the cartridge being taken out, and the disk film is again protected in the cartridge from light.
The developing process for such a disk film as described above, taking out the disk film from the cartridge, color developing, bleaching, fixing (or bleaching fixing), and washing (or stabilizing) are performed substantially as a darkroom, like in the case of roll film.
The conventional developing apparatus has an advantage that it can treat a multiplicity of disk film at a time, but the consumers of the disk film in Japan is no more than 2-3% of the consumers of amateur photograph film (mainly 35-mm roll film) and the request for developing the disk film to a camera shop is as small as zero to several cassettes per one day, thus, the centralized treatment by the lab. is made inevitable as mentioned above. This situation may not conform to the recent needs of the consumers remarkably observed in 35-mm roll film for shorter treating time (waiting time) from reception of developing request to delivery in a shop such as one day, several hours, or one hour.
Such developing apparatus which can process a multiplicity of disk roll at a time has larger processing tank than one being required and is further provided with a replenishing solution tank, replenishing equipment for the replenishing solution and piping for water washing treatment and a waste solution tank, thereby further becoming too large. In addition to the problem in size, the operation for above developing apparatus is complicated and requires a certain level of special knowledge including that is necessary to deal with troubles in the dark room. These demerits are an obstacle to the provision of the apparatus in a camera shop for developing service, accordingly, this fact is against the current needs of shortening the processing (waiting) time.
Such response of the photograph processing equipment maker against the flow toward mini-lab. for 35-mm roll film which makes the shop front service possible by non-washing, non-piping, table size, and short-time processing (within one hour) offsets the merits of simple operation, easy handling, compactness, and easy editing of exposed film processed by disk film or camera in contrast to 35-mm roll film or camera, resulting in obstructing the spreading of disk film.
Recently, with the spread of electronics equipment such as video, merely viewing prints as before is not satisfactory and it is desired earnestly to view large pictures together with great numbers of peoples such as family. The rapid advance of recent electronics equipment has made electronic reading of color picture information of developed film possible, and its display on every type of viewer not only on television screen are also possible. In addition, easy practice of enlargement and modulation of color tone made it possible to view the film, which has been photographed by oneself, in the best or most favorable conditions.
Thus, one advantage of the electronics equipment is that the picture is directly obtained from the film without intermediate operation of the printing. In comparison with the simultaneous print system so far, the developing process is reduced by half as the printing process is unnecessary. This brings it one step closer to the proper desire to see the picture earlier as it has been photographed. As such, the requirements for reducing developing (wait) time increase, then even requirements for shop-front service or domestic processing arise. It is obvious in such a case that the processing apparatus now on sale at the market cannot cope with the problem. For such purposes, processing capacity of no more than 1 to 2 disk films at a time may be sufficient. The size of the processing apparatus should be as small as possible (such as desk-top type), and the operation should be more simple than as described above (one-button operation or no darkroom operation may be better).
The problems to be solved by the invention as studied by the inventors are as follows: